Hardships of Past Life
by angelbaby1291
Summary: After their parents had just passed away, Reks promised their mother to take care of Vaan. They have a hardtime being homeless, and are taken in by the family of Penelo. Vaan and Penelo can't seem to get along well. How will they cope?
1. The Beginning of Hardship

**Chapter One:**

"Not that way, Vaan!" yelled a 14-year-old boy with grayish hair. He saw his younger brother, Vaan, running up to where the imperial guards were. A month ago, their parents had died from a plague that had struck Dalmasca. With no more money, he and Vaan had lost their home. And with no food, they had to eat what Vaan could steal.

His brother Vaan has just stolen a piece of bread from the market at the Muthru Bazaar, but he never was cautious. The older brother, Reks, was the only left who was able to watch over Vaan.

"Please Reks, promise me that you will take care of him. Help him grow. Help him learn." Said his mother, as she was about to die. She was talking in a low voice where Reks can hardly hear her.

"Mother? Don't go! We need you! I need you!" Reks cried.

"I can't live any longer. Just remember to take care of your brother. I love y…." She reminded him as she stopped speaking. Reks held onto her hand with both of his, and it suddenly felt cold. He saw her close her eyes.

"Mother?! Mother?! Come back!" Reks yelled. Tears spilled out of his eyes, but he couldn't stop them. The more he held onto his mother's hand, the colder it got. He didn't want the cold feeling, so he let go. He cried on her.

Reks's eyes started feeling a little wet as he thought about the memory, but he knew he had to protect Vaan, who was two years younger than him. There was a difference though- he was a lot more immature.

"Vaan! No!" He watched as his younger brother ran with a smile on his face. He had taken it from one of the imperials back at the Muthru Bazaar. Dumbly, he was running into another. Only this time, he didn't notice.

He snickered with the loot in his hands, and ran into the imperial guard. He fell down to the ground, with the loaf of bread tumbling out of his hands. Reks started running up to where Vaan was.

"Ah, what do we have here?" asked the imperial. "A little dirty brat trying to touch my well polished mail?" The imperial was wiping the spot on his armor Vaan had ran into.

"Well, I was just-"Vaan said, trying to think of a lie. He was still lying on the ground.

"Over there!" said an imperial from a distance. "That's the one! That dirty brat took my bread." Two more imperials were running up to the one the Vaan had run into.

"So you think you can just take whatever you one from us, huh?" questioned the imperial. "Well, let's show him what we can take from him." The three imperials were upon him. One lifted him up, holding onto his arms. Another started searching his pockets. He took out a bag of the remaining gil he and Reks had left.

"Hey! That's mine!" Vaan argued, trying to kick his way out of the imperial's grasp. "Give that back!" He demanded.

Reks ran up to the imperial. "That's right. He didn't know any better." Reks picked up the loaf of bread, and handed it to the imperial Vaan had taken it from. "No hard feelings."

Waiting for a reply, Reks stared at them imperial as he was inspected the soiled loaf of bread. He eyes it carefully, and spit on it. Next, he hurled it harshly at Reks, and then pushed him down. The other imperial holding Vaan also threw him to the ground so he can join his brother.

"This bread rots with peasant! I will no longer eat this dirty thing!" yelled the imperial.

"But we will be taking this for the bread" said another imperial, tossing the bag of gil up and down in his right hand. The all laughed together.

Vaan could take it no longer. He stood up, and lunged towards the imperial holding the bag. He tried to reach for it. The other two pulled him off, and threw him back on the ground. The three imperials kicked a cloud of dirt into Vaan and Reks. Both of the boys coughed and wiped their tearing eyes.

"That should teach them not to mess with their superiors." One of the imperials laughed. The other two joined him as they walked away.

After the imperials walked away, Reks turned over to look at Vaan, who was still wiping dirt out of his eyes. Reks leaned over to Vaan, and brushed his blond hair with his hand. Vaan slapped his hand away.

"You shouldn't have been here! I could have handled those guys by myself!" Vaan yelled.

"But Vaan, I was just warning you that you were running into imp-"

"I know! I just wanted to show you I could take care of myself. You're always acting like our mom!" Vaan argued. He could see that Reks's eyes watered a little bit. Vaan suddenly became soft, "Oh, I'm sorry, I just can't stand living like this. I miss having a house, good food, and money."

Reks pulled his brother into his arms. "I know Vaan, it's very hard, but we can get through this." He whispered. "Don't worry, I promised to take care of you with my life."

Vaan smiled. "Thanks a lot Reks. I'd don't know what I do if you weren't here."

Reks let go of Vaan and stood up. He helped Vaan up. "No problem. That's what brothers do." He nodded his head to try to shake off the remaining sand. He looked up at the sky and saw the sun was started to set. "Well Vaan, I think we should call it a day. We'll be fine without food for just one night."

Vaan nodded then smiled, "Yes, one night is just fine." The brothers then walked side-by-side back to their shelter. Their shelter was outdoors, at a dead end with crates. When they wanted to wash their faces, they would go to the big fountain in the Southern Plaza. Well when they wanted to eat food, they had to buy it with the Gil, or else, Vaan would steal some.

While they were walking to the fountain to wash their faces, they saw a woman at the East Gate. She was arguing with two imperials guarding the gate. Vaan and Reks crept closer to listen.

"But my daughter- She could be in the desert. Where all the wolves are!" The woman complained.

"Silence! It is now dusk and we won't let any peasants through!" yelled the imperial.

"But she's all alone! I let pet the chocobos at the stable, and she never came back! I just want to go find her!"

"We don't care. Now begone!" demanded the imperial. "Guards!" Two more imperials came and started pulling the woman away. The woman was arguing and screaming.

"I just about had it with these bucket heads!" said Vaan in disgust. He started trying to run up to help the woman, but Reks held him back.

"No Vaan, remember what they did to us?" Reks reminded.

Vaan settled down. "Yeah, but I hate it when they think they can do whatever they want with us." He noticed that Reks was no longer listening, but he was staring at the woman being carried away.

"What's wrong brother?" Vaan asked him.

"That looks like…mother!" Reks said wide-eyed.


	2. An adoption

**Chapter Two:**

A little girl saw the darkness of the sky, and knew she should be returning home. Only now she was in the middle of the desert, and perhaps she was lost. She looked around, and then heard a howl of a wolf. Scared, she ran towards the bottom of a cliff and hid under it.

'I'll be safe here.' She thought. 'Tomorrow they will find me. Yes I just know it. Mom is probably worried sick, and she's trying to get help. I just know it.'

But who? Who would take their time to help her mother look for her? She was not that important after all….

The girl felt a gentle breeze fly across her face. Luckily, she was in a desert, so it was not too hot or too cold at night. The weather was just right.

After all, it was her fault. She had told her mom she would come back before evening. Her mom had let go to the chocobos stable. There was a chocobo that caught her eye, because it didn't seem to walk straight like the others. Nobody really rented it much, because it walked in a zigzag pattern. The girl thought it was unique though. The stable owner, Gurdy, let her feed it many Gyashl Greens. Every time she fed it one, it ate it all in one bite. She would then giggle.

Later, someone did rent it, without knowing the way it walked. It appeared to be an imperial. The imperial was so angry about riding it, he hit it many times as it entered the Estersand. It forced her to follow. When the chocobo started sprinting madly, she could not keep up. This caused her to lose her way back. She ended up in the wrong place, but not at a bad time, since it wasn't so hot at night.

'Tomorrow,' She decided, 'I will find my way home no matter what. No matter what….' She drifted to sleep under the cliff, forgetting about how much danger she could be in. She laid back with the moonlight reflecting off of her blond hair in braided pigtails. She pulled on the leg of her brown pants, trying to make herself comfortable. 'I'll be fine…'

Reks felt dizzy. He knew he did not know this woman, but she had the image of his mother. The woman screamed, and tried to break her way out of the imperial's grip. Reks saw his mother in her place, and finally lost his mind.

"Mother!" He yelled "Mother!" He started running his way towards the imperials without thinking. He ran so fast, his gray hair flew back in the opposite direction.

"Reks, where are you going?" Vaan asked. Reks ignored him. Vaan groaned, and followed after him.

The imperials turned to his direction and saw Reks charging at them. He smashed into one, hitting his heavy metal armor. Reks rubbed his forehead and looked up.

"Gah! It's that same brat that took our bread." Said the imperial as Vaan ran up to Reks's side.

"No, it the other one!" Said another, pointing at Vaan.

"Whatever, just grab them both!"

Free of them, the woman came and blocked the way to the boys. "Leave these children alone! They don't know what their doing!" argued the woman.

"Silence! You both have already caused us enough trouble!" With that, he threw the woman to the ground.

"Leave her alone!" demanded Reks.

"Yeah!" Vaan added with support.

The imperial walked up to the boys in anger. Luckily, a voice with a British accent called from behind. "Leave these people alone. They looked like they suffered enough already." A little boy walked up with two imperials by his side. He was dressed like an Archadian royal, and had short dark hair. He looked like he was no more than seven or eight years old.

"Young Lord!" said one of the imperials. "These people were opposing us."

"Well, they just look like innocent people to me. So let them be." The young Lord said. The imperials muttered then walked towards him. The young Lord gave them another command. "Get back to your post." He commanded. The imperials left. Larsa walked up to the woman and the boy. "I'm sorry we caused you all this trouble, please forgive us." He told them. Wow, a young seven-year-old boy could be so mature.

"Yeah, thanks a lot." said the Woman.

"My pleasure." He answered, and then walked away with his two imperial guards following behind him.

"Wait!" She called after the young lord, but he was already gone.

There was silence for a few moments. Reks looked at the woman, and finally realized she was not his mother at all, though she did look a lot like her. Of course, his mother was already dead, but it made him more depressed. He continued to rub his head. "Are you okay?" He asked her weakly.

"Yes, I am fine. Thanks to you and…." She paused. "Should you boys be getting home now, it's very dark. I'm sure your mother might be worried about you."

Vaan looked from the woman to Reks, waiting to see what would happen next. Finally Reks spoke first. "Our mother is….dead." He told her. Vaan's eyes grew wide.

"I'm sorry." She told them.

"But you remind me very much of her." Reks confessed.

"Yes, I guess that can explain why I heard somebody yelling mother. I conclude that it was you." She said. Reks nodded. "Where are you boys going to stay?" She asked them.

"We sleep out here. Just like every night." Vaan answered. He put both his arms behind his blond hair.

"Really? How do you eat?" She asked them.

"Well, I steal from the imperials." Vaan answered proudly. Reks gave Vaan a piercing glare. The woman looked at them both. She sighed.

"How would both of you like to come and live with me?" She offered. Reks smiled. It would just be like living with his mom again.

"Sounds good, right Reks?" Vaan asked.

Reks thought for a moment, and decided it was okay. "Yeah, I guess so." He answered.

The woman stood up. "Come with me." The boys followed her. "What are your names?" She asked them.

"I'm Vaan, and this is Reks." Vaan answered.

"And how old are you?" She asked the boys.

Reks started answering, "Well, I'm fourteen and Vaan is twelve."

"Really?" The woman asked looking at Vaan. "I have a daughter your age. Her name is- Oh no! I forgot! I have to go find her." She panicked. "What am I going to do? The imperials won't let me through the gate!"

"Maybe you can ask that imperial kid. He seemed like a nice guy" Suggested Vaan. Reks was just speechless.

"Yeah! That's not a bad idea, only we have to go find him now!" She said. The boys nodded.

"I think we should split up. We'll all meet back at the fountain." Said Reks. The woman nodded and ran off.

"See ya." Vaan said taking his leave.

Reks shrugged and went in a direction neither of them went. He just started looking.

After ten minutes of searching the streets of Rabanastre, Reks ended up back at the fountain. He saw Vaan and his new "mother". They were both with The young Lord and the two imperials who followed him. Reks saw him nod. He ran up to join them.

"Don't worry," said the young Lord in his British accent, "I will begin my search instantly." Reks heard groans from the two imperials as they followed behind the young Lord.

"I really hope they will find her." said the mother.

"Well, why can't we go wait there?" asked Vaan. "The kid should let you through the gate."

"Sure then, lets go."

* * *

**Well, here is the next chappie.The woman's daughter shouldkinda be self explanatory**


	3. a conflict

**Chapter Three:**

The little girl had awakened, looking around. It was still dark, and there could still be hunting wolves out. Her pigtails were frizzed from lying on the sand, and her skin felt sticky. She rubbed her eyes a few times, and then heard clinks of armor. Consciously, she recognized the noise. There were imperials in the desert strolling around. She heard some stop to talk, but she couldn't distinguish what they were saying.

'Maybe I can ask them for help.' She thought. 'They should help me find my mother.' Then again, they were selfish imperials that would never help. The Archadian Empire usually opposed Dalmascans anyways. 'Never know till I try.' She thought to herself again. She stood up, and scanned for one nearby.

"Over there!" She heard a young boy with a British accent say. "There! I think I see her!" The girl didn't know whether he meant her or not, but she went towards the voice anyways. It was a good chance to get out of this desert.

She felt someone grab her wrist. It appeared to be an imperial. "Ah, this must be you." She felt petrified for a moment, but then remembered an opportunity. "I'm lost." She told him.

"Oh really? I know someone who has been looking for you." He said with a malicious tone. The little girl gulped. "Well come along. I will show you."

The little girl could not tell whether she was being tricked or not. She did not have much experience with strangers. The meaning of trust was not very clear to her. She did not know whether to scream or stay silent. Just then, a boy about five years younger appeared before her, riding on top of a chocobo with an imperial holding the reign.

"Hello, you must be Penelo, the girl your mother and brothers had been looking for right." He asked in a sweet British accent. Penelo smiled, but then frowned.

'Brothers?' She thought 'What brothers? I'm an only child! He must be mistaken!' Then she remembered this was a chance to get back to Rabanastre. She nodded her head.

He put his hand on her messy blond hair. She blushed a little bit. "Very well then, come with me." He turned his head to the imperial holding on her wrist. "Put her on my saddle." He demanded. Penelo heard the imperial complain under his breath. With that, he grabbed onto her waist and lifted her. He put her on the chocobo's saddle behind the young Lord.

"You will be reunited with your family soon." He said. He gave her a sweet smile. She turned slightly red and smiled back. The imperial grabbed onto the reign of chocobo, and guided it back. On the way back, Penelo rested her head on his shoulder.

The chocobo just had crossed the border between the Estersand and the east gate of Rabanastre. The ride did not last long nor did the light of the sky changed. Remembering what she was up for, Penelo quickly jerked her head off the young Lord's shoulder. She looked up, looking for her mother and her so-called brothers.

"We're back." said the young Lord. "Your family must have been worried. They are right there waiting for you." The chocobo moved closer. Without noticing, the imperial lifted Penelo, and put her on the ground. She looked ahead.

Penelo's eyes opened wide. She did see her mother, but with two other boys. One looked a few years older than her, and the other appeared to be about her age. 'No.' she thought. 'Mother wasn't trying to replace me, was she?' She glanced over at her mother. It appeared she probably did miss her, since her eyes were in tears. The two boys standing next to her just seemed to stare- the blond one looked confused. The boy with the gray hair tapped her mother's arm and pointed to her. The mother looked up, and ran to her.

"Penelo!" She cried, "I am so glad you are okay!" Her mother hugged her with open arms.

The young lord approached her mother. "I have found your daughter, please remember to take care of her."

"Thank you so much! I wish to reward you!" the mother said.

"No need to repay me. I am just fine with helping." He walked away with his imperials following.

Her mother started asking her questions. "Are you hurt? Are you sick? What happened?"

"I think you should let her rest first. She looks exhausted after her journey." said the gray haired boy. Penelo stared at him with bewildered eyes.

"Oh yes, honey, I would like to introduce to these boys. This one is Vaan." She said, pointing at the young blond, "and this is Reks." She said pointing at the other boy. "You should be most grateful of them. They helped me out."

Reks gave her a gentle smile while Vaan gave her a smirk. She looked at her mom and back at the boys. "Hi." greeted Reks.

"Hey…." Penelo greeted shyly.

Her mother smiled in satisfaction. "Good, now that's all settled, let's go home."

Penelo was confused. 'We? As in her and her mom? Or all four of them?'She did not remember housing with these boys.

Penelo held onto her mother's hand as she led them home. The boys followed. 'I guess they are living with us.' She thought. She turned her head to look at each of them, and studied their dirty faces. 'They're cute.' She thought, and smiled to herself.

The four have just gotten home, and were getting to bed. Since there were only three bedrooms in the house, Reks was going to have his own room, while Vaan had to share with her. Luckily, she would still have the bed while he had to sleep on the floor with a blanket and a pillow. 'At least I'll have some company.' Penelo thought. 'and a new friend to talk to when I can't sleep.' She smiled to herself. She would finally get to talk to one of these cute boys.

Her mother let each of them take a bath, which was nice for Penelo, since she sand had stuck to her sweat, and her hair was a mess.

Penelo had put her hair back to braided ponytails, as usual. It was her favorite hairstyle as well as giving her upper back a breeze. Penelo yawned. Tired, she found herself wandering off to bed. When she had reached her room, she hopped on her bed. She was about to pull the blanket over herself when someone grabbed both her pigtails and hurled her onto the floor.

She looked up and saw the boy named Vaan glaring down at her with cold blue eyes. "You stay down there. I'll sleep up here."

"But I sleep there!" argued Penelo. "Mother said that you had to sleep on the floor."

"No way! While, I'm here, I'm going to make the best of it. So stay out of my way!" He yelled back.

"Wait until mother hears this-"She stopped when Vaan grabbed both of her pigtails. He pulled her head towards him.

"If you dare tell anyone, then I will pull these ropes out of your head!" He threatened. Penelo suddenly became silent. He let go with satisfaction, and made himself comfortable on her bed.

Her bubble had burst. This selfish guy did not want to talk to her in a friendly way at all. She knew she did not want to think any longer because pulling her pigtails gave her a headache. All she did was lie down on the pillow set on the floor, pull the covers over her head, and cry herself to sleep.


End file.
